The budget of £6.3million funds national activity in support of local delivery of objectives.

Recent significantand sustained investment in mental wellbeing has allowed a strong momentum to buildup across Scotland through the Scottish Government’s nationalleadership and support. For example, this has included step changes in action onraising awareness of positive mental health and wellbeing, on promoting and supportingrecovery from mental ill-health, on suicide prevention and on elimination of stigmaand discrimination around mental illness.

Our focus in SpendingReview 2007 – and in Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland, our currentdiscussion paper outlining theproposed future direction for mental health improvement and population mental healthfor 2008-11, is on a significant shift in emphasis from predominantly national supportactivity to local action. The budget which we announced recently for national-ledwork remains at a significant level and will allow continued progress on improvingthe mental health and wellbeing of all who live in Scotland; it is complementedby other government funding to NHS boards for mental health services and bygovernment funding to charitable organisations which undertake national work inthe mental health field. Government funding to local authorities for mental healthhas been rolled into local authorities’ total funding. We will work with localauthorities and our other partners to ensure that mental health remains a priority.

In addition, manyactivities that are funded through other budget lines, such as promotion of physicalactivity, healthy working lives, access to the arts and creativity, and communityregeneration, also incorporate aspects that can contribute to improved mental wellbeing.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-6417 on 26 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The cancer and pregnancyand newborn screening programmes will benefit from the increased funding outlinedin the 2008-11 spending plans. In addition we expect to announce details of newscreening programmes in due course.

This funding willhelp ensure delivery of our commitment to a maximum referral to treatment waitingtime of 18 weeks by the end of 2011. It will be invested in a number of programmesto increase capacity for NHS patients, modernise systems and processes within NHSboards, and redesign services to streamline the patient’s journey through the NHS.

The primary and communitycare sectors will also play an important role through developing alternatives tohospital admissions, providing care closer to patients and by working in partnershipto optimise the responsiveness and effectiveness of care arrangements.

Investment will bemade against a background of securing greater efficiency and productivity acrossthe NHS and its partner organisations, and of encouraging innovative, high-qualityand sustainable solutions.

The inspectionevidence available on a national basis from over 500 primary and secondaryschools across all 32 local authorities supports the view that schools across Scotland are endeavouring to be health promoting schools. Onthis basis, we are satisfied that a baseline has been achieved and look forwardto the commencement of the health promotion duty of the Schools (HealthPromotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act on 3 January 2007. As previously advised in answer to S3W-5836, answeredon 9 November 2007, this will build on the work already doneby placing a legal duty on Scottish Ministers and education authorities toendeavour to ensure that all public schools and hostels provided and maintainedby education authorities are health-promoting.All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, thesearch facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

While there is nosingle organisation that is responsible for the post-school transition ofpeople with learning disabilities, the Education (Additional Support forLearning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (the Act) requires education authorities to takespecific action to help young people with additional support needs, includingthose with learning disabilities, to make the transition from school to post-schoollife successfully.

Within specifictimescales, education authorities are required to seek information from, andprovide information to, any appropriate agency that the education authoritythinks is relevant. The appropriate agencies which may be involved are: anyother local authority; any NHS board; Careers Scotland; any further education college,and any institution of higher education. Theeducation authority should also consider the provision that the local authorityitself is likely to make for the child or young person after they leave schooli.e. social work provision.

Under the newconcordat between the Scottish Government and local government, signed on 14 November 2007 and available in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. number 44077), each local authority will aim to reach a single outcomeagreement (SOA) with the Scottish Government at the earliest opportunity. TheSOA will be based on the national outcomes and indicators set out in theNational Performance Framework and, under a common framework, local outcomes totake account of local priorities. There are specific indicators contained inthe National Performance Framework on drugs and alcohol. The SOA will cover alllocal government services in each local authority area as well as a significantrange of the responsibilities of Community Planning Partnerships where localauthorities have a significant part to play. We are drawing up proposals for reforming localdelivery arrangements of drugs and alcohol services in this context, and willbring forward proposals as part of the government’s new drugs strategy.

The budget for Improvementand Support of the NHS provides a range of programmes and resources designed tohelp NHS boards improve their performance through redesigning and streamlining processes.The Improvement and Support Team will, over the spending review period, transferknowledge and skills in service improvement to NHS boards, enabling a modest reductionto be made in the budget to just over £20 million annually. This will enable thenecessary support to continue to be given to boards.

NHS boards are responsiblefor meeting the health care needs of those with conditions such as lymphoedema.Services, including the provision of information, for those with conditions suchas lymphoedema are primarily the responsibility of NHS boards to plan and to fund,in the light of the needs of their resident population, from the unified budgetswhich are made available to them from the government.

Regional and localcancer networks are responsible for ensuring that GPs are updated and supportedwith regard to training for any new developments in the management of cancer. Inaddition, these networks monitor compliance with treatment guidelines, includingwork undertaken by GPs in remote and/or rural areas.

GPs and secondary care doctors are also expected to undertakeContinuing Professional Development (CPD). NHS boards and the GP Post Graduate Deaneries,through NHS Education for Scotland, facilitate this on-going education and trainingand GPs in remote and rural areas can access such support both directly and online.

The Drug and TherapeuticsBulletin, which assesses, advises and updates on new treatments, is sent to allGP Practices in Scotland. For new drugs, the Scottish Medicines Consortiumassess all new drugs for cancer shortly after licensing and issue guidance to NHSboards to ensure they are prescribed by clinicians with the correct level of expertise.